Johnson, Christensen place at CIF State Championships

Murrieta Valley’s Nicolas Johnson and Chaparral’s Bradley Christensen woke Saturday morning with a chance to be state champions.

Their dream of standing on top of the podium at the CIF State Wrestling Championships ended in the semifinals, but both left Rabobank Arena with fourth-place medals, no small feat in the most populous state in the nation.

Johnson’s finish was the best ever in Murrieta Valley’s wrestling history. Meanwhile, Christensen became Chaparral’s top finisher since former Arizona State All-American Chris Drouin was a runner-up in Bakersfield in 2006.

In his 195-pound semifinal match, Johnson gave Vacaville’s Jeramy Sweany, the eventual state champion, all he could handle in a bruising chess match. Johnson was tied 1-1 with Sweany with 30 seconds remaining in the third period, but the latter notched a late takedown to win on a 3-1 decision.

The last-second triumph assured that Johnson would at least leave Bakersfield with a fourth-place finish.

“I am a little shell-shocked, I can’t believe that I actually hit it,” Johnson said. “All the Greco training really paid off to help out with all those last-minute things. That’s what we have been working on in the last week with Coach, those extra things. Not changing any technique, just adding a few things for last second situations just like that.”

In the third-place match, Johnson lost another close decision, 2-0, to Ripon’s Trevor Smith. But afterward, the happy-go-lucky Johnson was content with his performance versus top-tier competition.

“It helps to know that I am wrestling with those guys and I am at that caliber,” Johnson said.

With a visit to Duke University on the horizon, Johnson has plenty to look forward to even though the senior’s prep career ended Saturday. And Vogt now has a new wave of college coaches inquiring about his 6-foot grappler.

“Where were you guys a month ago when I told you this guy was good?” said Vogt about the recent interest. “All of the sudden, you’re paying attention to me!”

In typical Christensen fashion, the senior had a workmanlike run to the semifinals. On Friday, he won his first three matches by decision with comfortable margins of 8-1, 9-2 and 6-0.

Entering Saturday, Chaparral coaches Ric Campo and Jake Paino felt Christensen was wrestling his best of the season, beginning with the CIF Southern Section Masters meet, where he was the 160-pound champion.

Christensen’s torrid streak ended when Folsom’s Nicholas Fiegener pinned him in five minutes, 18 seconds during the semifinals match.